Leg 16 TJSJ - San Juan (Puerto Rico) to TIST - Saint Thomas (Virgin Islands)
TJSJ - Airport Info
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ICAO code: TJSJ
Airport name: Luis Munoz Marin International
Location: San Juan , Puerto Rico
Useful information
Airport elevation: 9'
Time zone: AT (UTC -4)
Lighted runways : Yes
Maximum runway length: 10002
Runway surface : Asphalt
Instrument approach (ILS, LOC, LDA, and SDF):
Runway 8: Glide Slope (3º) Localizer (110.3)
Runway 10: Glide Slope (3º) Localizer (109.7)
RNAV (GPS) RW08
RNAV (GPS) RW10
RNAV (GPS) RW26
NDB RW08
NDB RW10
VOR RW26
San Juan Info
San Juan is a spirited modern city with high-rise beach strips and a justly famous colonial core. Founded in the 16th century, it's the second-oldest city in the Americas; today it's the engine of the island's economic and political life and the cultural beachhead for US influence in the Caribbean.
Many Caribbean adventurers never make it past Puerto Rico's seductive capital: there's a lot to be said for being able to lay a towel down on an pristine white Caribbean beach while having the culture and quaintness of a historic city and the convenience of a modern metropolis just minutes away.
San Juan is located on the northeastern coast of the island of Puerto Rico, nearly 1700km (1000mi) southeast of Miami, Florida, and about 880km (550mi) north of Caracas, Venezuela. The heart of the city is Old San Juan, which occupies the western end of a small island on the eastern side of the entrance to the Bahía de San Juan. The resort areas of Condado and Isla Verde stretch east of the old city, and the bulk of greater San Juan radiates south, east and west. San Juan's international airport is on the eastern fringe of the city, about 16km (10mi) from Old San Juan.
TIST - Airport Info
ICAO code: TIST
Airport name: Cyril E. King
Location: Saint Thomas , Virgin Islands
Useful information
Airport elevation: 23'
Time zone: AT (UTC -4)
Lighted runways : Yes
Maximum runway length: 7000
Runway surface : Asphalt
Instrument approach (ILS, LOC, LDA, and SDF):
Runway 10: DME Glide Slope (3º) Localizer (110.1)
RNAV (GPS) Z RW10
Aiport NAVAIDS:
NONE
Saint Thomas Info
This spiky lizard-shaped island has a rambunctious past peppered with the exploits of men named after their facial hair. You'd think the stomping ground of Blackbeard and the mythical Bluebeard would be the last place to turn into the quintessential American beach suburb, but a fine port is a fine port whether you're unloading booty, slaves or cruise ship passengers. St Thomas is overly developed and fixated on shopping but it's also strikingly pretty, thanks to a spine of hills whose forested ridges form headlands separating bays and coves filled with turquoise-blue water. There are more than forty beaches fringing the island, and snorkelling and dive spots galore.
Charlotte Amalie (named after the wife of King Christian V in 1691), the capital of the Virgin Islands, has long been a busy port. Today you'd call the town 'lively and bustling' if you were feeling polite, 'congested and harassing' if you'd just had 40 spruikers tell you what lovely watches they have. True enough, the centre of town is swamped by cruise ship passengers and duty-free shops, but it does wear its Danish heritage with style. The neat, pastel-painted warehouses, the ochre-coloured fort and the dual Danish-English street signs combine to keep it clear that this ain't no mall. The colourful melange of tropical foliage, red-roofed houses and the rich blue bay are best seen from Blackbeard's Castle, atop Government Hill.
The town's top ranking historic attraction is Fort Christian, a modest red affair that looks barely fit to defend a string of sausages. The building dates to the 1670s when it served as a combined defence post, government house, church and community hall. When the threat of invasion dissipated, the fort became a jail and, since 1987, a museum with displays on the region's natural heritage (including medicinal plants and birdlife) and art.
Part of the island's inglorious past is still standing in Market Square at the other end of Charlotte Amalie. Today the covered plaza is the local food market but it was once the Caribbean's busiest trading post for slaves. Nearby, the Beracha V'Shalom V'Gimilath Chasidim Synagogue was built by Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition; it's now the oldest continually operating synagogue under the US flag.
The island's other attractions include the Virgin Islands panorama at Drake's Seat, a high point in the centre of the island from which Sir Francis himself is said to have watched naval engagements. Any self-respecting beach connoisseur should stake out a patch of Magens Bay on the central north coast. Those craving peace and privacy are better off heading to the nearby uninhabited islets of Hassel Island (not hassling at all) and Great St James.
Mountain Top, at the peak of St Peter Mountain is higher than Drake's Seat though the surrounding forest means the view is better from lower down. Nevertheless, this is a tranquil spot in between tour buses when you can get a seat at the pleasant bar behind the carpark. Locals claim the banana daiquiri was invented here in an idle moment - boy, does this watering hole have a lot to answer for.
Downloads
TJSJ landclass - pr_class.zip ( on
www.flightsim.com
)
TJSJ scenery enhancement - pr2004v1.zip ( on
www.flightsim.com
)